Kengchakaj: The Unforgetting at The Jazz Gallery

The Jazz Gallery ⁠
1158 Broadway, 5th fl⁠ ⁠
(entrance on 27th st)⁠ ⁠
New York NY 10001⁠

Kengchakaj – piano, electronics, DIY gongs
Melissa Almaguer – taps
MAYSUN – percussion, electronics
Nitcha Fame Tothong – visual

 

"Unforgetting" is a concept introduced by Thongchai Winichakul, a survivor of the October 6, 1976, Thammasart University massacre, to describe the liminal space between remembering and forgetting—a state of suspended memory that characterizes the enduring silence surrounding this tragic event. This silence is not mere forgetfulness; rather, it represents the profound inability to either fully remember or completely forget, to articulate traumatic memories in ways that are comprehensible and meaningful, or to move beyond the past entirely.

This set of music confronts the systematic silencing of activists and radical thinkers across Southeast Asia, with particular focus on Thailand, while drawing urgent parallels to the resurgence of fascism worldwide. Through this music, I hope to unfold this condition of "unforgetting"—using sound to hold space for difficult truths as we move together toward healing and justice.

Kengchakaj is a Thai diaspora, Bangkok-born, Lenapehoking-based artist, pianist, improviser, and synthesist. His practice engages with organizing, synthesizing, and improvising sounds drawn from personal experience influenced by political complexities, ancestral soundscapes, and modes of collaboration and expression rooted in Southeast Asian tradition and lineage.

His medium of expression spans acoustic piano, electronics, Southeast Asian tuned analog synthesizer, multichannel spatial audio, instrument making, and live coding.

 

Sets at 7pm + 9pm ET

General Seating $30 ($20 for members; $15 for student members)
Cabaret Seating $40 ($25 for members)
Livestream $20 ($5 for members)

The Jazz Gallery ⁠
1158 Broadway, 5th fl⁠ ⁠
(entrance on 27th st)⁠ ⁠
New York NY 10001⁠
jazzgallery.org